San Antonio is putting more city resources into early childhood after new federal survey data showed kindergarten readiness differs sharply by income. The National Survey for Children’s Health, administered by the U.S. Census Bureau, collects annual parent and guardian responses on areas including early learning, social-emotional development, self-regulation, motor development and health, and its latest results were released in December.
Nationally, the survey found nearly two-thirds of children were reported to be on track for kindergarten “regardless of their families’ income,” but the report also documented about a 20% readiness difference when comparing the poorest families with the wealthiest. The survey’s authors frame the early years — from birth through age 5 — as a key period for development and preparation for kindergarten.
In San Antonio, that mismatch has become a practical case study for how cities can respond. The city’s Pre-K 4 SA program, which opened in 2013, aims to serve low-income and working-class families throughout the city by offering 2,000 preschool seats for 3- and 4-year-olds, with about 80% of seats free for families that qualify. The program expanded last year to add four infant and toddler classrooms in the new South Education Center, said program leaders.
At Pre-K 4 SA, educators and administrators described a “whole child” model that combines academic foundations with attention to a wider range of needs that can be affected by poverty. Sarah Baray, the CEO of Pre-K 4 SA, said the program helps children “not just (for) academic success, but life success,” and she said the program’s quality is high enough that “even families who could afford to go anywhere try to get into our schools.”
Deziree Arce, a teacher in the program, described classrooms where children learn foundational skills like counting and recognizing shapes, while also practicing social-emotional skills such as consoling classmates or resolving conflicts. Arce said, “When I see kids that come from, like, where I came from, I’m giving them something that I never got,” and she said she has taught at Pre-K 4 SA for nine years after growing up in a low-income family.
The program also emphasizes motor development and outdoor time. Arce described lunch activities where children pinched turkey burgers using tongs provided by a local food bank, and educators said the program includes at least an hour outside each day unless weather conditions are severe. Pre-K 4 SA Chief of Schools Tonda Brown said the program encourages “risky play” that can include running tricycles, climbing on playground equipment, or using a water pump so children learn their physical limits early.
Pre-K 4 SA’s leaders also said demand remains a challenge, with more than 1,600 families on the program’s waitlist this school year. Baray said the enrollment team connects wait-listed families with other local options, including school district-run preschools or private centers partnered with Pre-K 4 SA, while other cities have tried to distribute demand through tuition assistance or financial credits.
In Denver, officials described a different approach through the Denver Preschool Program, which offers tuition credits to all families with 4-year-olds and lets selected families apply that money to licensed public or private preschools that participate in the sales tax-funded program. Priscilla Hopkins, executive director of Denver Public Schools’ early education office, said about 80% of the program’s providers were rated four or five stars in Colorado’s quality rating system in the 2024 impact report, and she said the level of support is based on income, with nearly 1,800 supported children in the lowest income tier — up to 135% of the federal poverty line — in 2024.
Beyond classroom instruction, experts and program staff said poverty can create obstacles to consistent participation, including transportation and instability at home. Kelly Purtell, a human development and family science professor at Ohio State University, said the lack of accessible, affordable preschool options can limit what preschools are “even on the table” for low-income families. Pre-K 4 SA offers free bus transportation at its South Education Center, and the program’s schedule also includes supports intended to help families stabilize, including healthy cooking classes, mobile vaccination clinics and “family cafes” where parents can seek help applying for jobs.
For Sandra Mosqueda, the effect of the program showed up in her own education path as well as in her children’s early start. She said her preschool placement allowed her to return to school after the birth of her youngest child paused her respiratory therapist studies, and she later completed a dental assistant degree and got a job at a nearby dental office. Mosqueda said of the support, “It’s showing them you can still do anything, no matter what comes in your way, and having the help to do it makes it possible,” a statement she said she saw reflected in her sons’ pride, including videos from her oldest son of her graduation last year.